Zell

Extremely well written, comprehensive and eye-opening look at mass incarceration in America. Alexander provides such a thorough argument, and details the limitations of it so well. It didn't feel repetitive or overargued, and was just the right length for a book like this. The specific examples were poignant and underscored the point of the book well.

I love a good short story collection that touches on important topics, and this collection definitely did that. However, I felt that some of the stories felt cut off partway through, and the interconnectedness felt more confusing than helpful sometimes. But the characters were vivid and interesting, and the plots of the stories were fantastic.

Cute, nice recipes, interesting blurbs about family life. Not all of the recipes are original, and there isn't much to this.

This book was aggressively mediocre. The writing style felt passive and did a lot of telling rather than showing. I feel like there wasn't much done with Cassie's character, and yet Julia's character's existence totally revolves around her. So there weren't any strong characters in a majorly character-driven story.

I really liked this book. I read it after reading Mexican Gothic and this is so different, but also so good! I liked the characters, the lore, and the action. I would have loved to see some more character development, I feel like the characters were enjoyable but there wasn't really much tangible growth or changing, because the action was prioritized.

This book was good but not great. I loved the idea and really enjoyed some of the characters - Albie and Franny were particular favorites. But there were just so many people, and so many perspectives, that I didn't feel attached to anyone in particular, even towards the end of the book. I liked the commentary on familial ties, and dysfunctional families.

A sweet book about an HIV-positive woman learning to love herself and help others in a small town. Felt a little formulaic and predictable, and some of the more minor characters felt like two-dimensional tropes. However, I liked the conversation about the stigma against HIV, the profound effect of abstinence-only sex ed and of drugs on small communities.

I really liked the first half of this book, but the magical realism wasn't as strong for me. Kenan has a very strong narrative voice that works well for some stories but is weaker for others. I really like the concept of this collection and the connections between stories.

This was a really strong and well told story. I had a bit of trouble keeping characters straight with all the perspective switches, and would have loved more of a focus on Eve, but overall thought the plot and the pacing were spot on. An important read about family, secrets, and queerness.

Extraordinarily well written. Hero's life, personality, and character are well developed, complex, and fascinating. All of the characters feel realistic and the plot was compelling. I loved the commentary and the beautiful family story here.

Beautifully written, the tone and descriptions and ways of saying things were all so well done. This was short but the characters came alive, and were all so unique and interesting. I truly loved this novella.

The idea behind this book was really interesting, but it ended up feeling super slow and tedious, and I was more bored than I would expect to be in a spy novel. The characters are not super well developed, and it felt like their motives were unclear and not well defined. This just felt unnecessary.

Most of these stories were fantastic. O'Farrell has such a lovely way with words and that was true here as well. Some of these did feel repetitive (there were 3 centered around drowning) but others were so unique and touching. The epilogue was heartfelt and one of the best parts for the book, and the first story was gripping. Overall a really strong memoir.

This was a fantastic memoir/essay collection. Febos writes so beautifully, with such honesty and wit and perception. I loved her reflections on her addiction and past, her heritage, and her relationships. Truly great.

I was really excited for the concept of this book. The emotion was real and there were some solid, impactful lines, but overall it felt circular and nonsensical, like things were being said but in way too many words. I didn't feel connected and, though this was a short book, I felt like I was slogging through.

Such a sweet friends-to-lovers! I loved the characters, the use of tropes, and the very real chemistry between the main characters. This was an incredibly adorable, likeable, and easy read.

This book is written so beautifully, with such care given to tone and meaning and repetition. I absolutely adored the narration style, the continuous circling back and rewriting of the narrative. It felt just the right length, and everything seemed so careful and painstaking. Truly a great novella.

This was such a cute little book. I loved the narrative style and the characters. I think I'm missing something reading this by itself - I didn't realize it was a second book in a series, or tied into other book series as well.... it didn't really stand on it's own that well, but again, that's my problem.

I really like the balance of stories and recipes here. The photography was beautiful and the recipes seem straightforward and approachable. I noticed a few typos (differing instructions in heading vs recipe, “blanced” instead of “blanched, etc) that I feel like should have been picked up in editing. Would have loved a few more challenging recipes as well.

I really enjoyed the narration here, and the characters. I found them realistic, charming, and utterly unique. The plot is interesting yet minimal, and I would have loved to see it more fleshed out, but the style and authorial choices here were lovely.

I agree with everything Rachel Hall said in her review - lots of stereotypes, no consistent tone, totally implausible. The adults were all awful, and the plot felt pretty racist at points.

I really enjoyed this collection of stories. I thought it offered a lot of good perspectives, but I would have loved a little bit of a deeper dive into some of the ideas presented here. I really liked most of these stories - the owl one felt a bit out of place, but the others were really strong.

Interesting food options, but the stories felt repetitive and really boring after a while. Ingredients might be hard to find as well.

This is such a heartwarming but sad book! Keiko is an amazing main character, I loved her self awareness and takes on society, and thought the plot was compelling. This was the perfect length and contained a great overall lesson. I loved it!

This book had a good premise and I was excited for it, but it ended up being horribly boring. It was a slog to get through, I didn't feel attached to any of the characters, and then all felt really two-dimensional. This was disappointing.